Chapter 11

A night spent locked into a rather Spartan visiting Journeyman's quarters had not improved Tirreysa's temper; and she refused to apologise.

Kaili discussed the matter with Tragen.

"And if we were a bigger Hold, I'd say let's keep her and try to bring her to her senses; but I'm thinking that she's bad for the morale of our people, holding forth about drudging like that" she said.

Tragen nodded.

"It's a fine day; I'll drive her back myself and make it quite clear to her father that she leaves in disgrace, and that I considered her ill manners and lazy habits to be his fault entirely. The animals are raring to get out: and they know if bad weather is coming before any man."

Kaili nodded. "I'll have her things packed and inform her that she's going" she said. "The other girls need not e worried about it."

She took a tray to Tirreysa for her breakfast to tell her that there was no need for civilised folk to have to associate with her as she had no idea how to behave.

Tirreysa made the mistake of throwing the tray at Kaili; and after receiving a good spanking at the hands of the angry little Ruathan was made to clear up the mess she had made.

"And if you've a mind t'go hungry for your naughty temper, sure, that was y'own choice" said Kaili, leaving coldly and rebolting the door.

Tragen was ready shortly afterwards and Kaili was glad to see the back of the stuck up Tirreysa.

"Poor little brat that ye are and do not even know it" she said. "Ye'll maybe realise one day we tried to help you" she said, as she tucked the rug around the girl.

"Go fly your nasty self to the Red Star" said Tirreysa, startling both firelizards squawking into the air.

"And may ye get the husband ye richly deserve ye piece o' work" said Kaili.

oOoOo

The other girls were back to their normal routine – or rather, Vorinia, Miresa and Iretta were; Josis and Glenayse not having taken time from their normal routine for household training as both trained for careers other than wives. Irette was spending more time learning Harping ut was not formally apprenticed while Horovarn sought permission from the Harper Hall. He had sent a message by his little green firelizard – one of those provided by M'gol for those Tragen felt deserving, and hoped to get a reply shortly.

It was during the lesson that morning that Masterharper Robinton's little bronze Zair arrived, chirping self importantly.

"Excuse me" said Horvarn, taking the note to read. "Ah! If you are wishful to take a formal apprenticeship, Irette, the Masterharper has no objection. If you become my apprentice I will be henceforth your guardian and you are subject to my rule. I will be strict, my child; I will not permit work just good enough and no more, simply in order to escape marriage. I will also protect your rights."

"I'm happy to work hard sir" said Irette. "Will I still do things with the others or come to you full time?"

"You'll exercise with the others; Harpers do not have such active jobs as Beastcrafters or even Woodcrafters. The afternoon walk or ride will be your time. You should inform your grandfather that you have accepted papers of apprenticeship in a craft though."

"Must I do so straight away?"

"It would be well to see that you can maintain a good standard in all harping aspects before annoying him" said Horovarn dryly. "I'll send you to the Harper Hall if I have to, but there's no reason you shouldn't learn the basics from me. You're old to begin an apprenticeship and intensive study WILL be needed."

Irette grinned.

"I'll catch up!" she said "I've been punished enough for singing at work because it spoils the concentration, or trying to make makeshift instruments! Must I do laundry and cooking?"

"No, but you may if you wish to learn" said Horovarn. "Harpers are versatile."

"Well I'll learn more cooking if you don't mind and leave the laundry" said Irette "I half suffocated in a hot wet sheet, urned myself on an iron, tripped over a vicious and malicious nightgown and knocked my knee – it wrestled with me, I know it did – and nipped my fingers with a peg. Laundry hates me."

Horovarn laughed.

"And you have the Harper instinct to make a funny story of your misadventures" he said "Very well, I'll talk to Lady Kaili."

oOoOo

That afternoon there was more drama; for Holder Toreel turned up in response to his sister-in-law's message.

"Where's Tragen?" he asked.

"Just got back from depositing a lazy ill conditioned brat on her father" said Kaili "The runners are hot."

Toreel nodded.

"My goodsister been trouble too?"

"She don't seem t'realise that Runnerbeasts take hard work t'care for and that ye cannot give orders t'others if ye do not know how to do the jobs" said Kaili dryly.

"Well we'll see about THAT!" said Toreel.

oOoOo

Miresa, convinced her brother-in-law had come to collect her, flung herself on him.

"I hear you're a lazy lump" said Toreel coldly.

"Toreel, they expect us to rise at an awful hour and get DIRTY!" cried Miresa.

"Listen my fine girl, and listen well" said Toreel grimly "You were indulged by your sister, my wife, because you were sickly. You WERE sickly. A girl who goes careering off around the countryside for hours on end on her riding beast is no longer sickly; and you expressed an interest in helping your sister's Hold by breeding runnerbeasts rather than joining your father's craft of weaving. Those are our two sources of revenue. You chose. Therefore you WILL learn how to do it properly as I am paying for; or I'll not be able to have you back. Or only as something commensurate with your skills, like a flax-treader. I have a small Hold with some three dozen souls plus the weavercrafters: I cannot afford freeloaders. Learn what you have promised to learn; or leave and take whatever jobs there may be in other Holds in anything you can do. I'm not having you pampered as a drain on my Hold any more. For you're healthy enough and have been for a couple of turns, relying on your sister's good nature and sympathy over the loss of your parents. You have a month to pull yourself together. Then I will stop paying Tragen for your keep and training if I do not get a favourable report and he may keep you as a drudge or send you to High Reaches Hold hiring fair as he sees fit."

"You wouldn't!" the girl gasped. "My sister would never let you!"

"Your sister is put upon by you" said Toreel "And I'll not have my wife having to work harder than she needs in waiting hand and foot on a lazy piece like yourself. She has her own children to think of, not a toddler who is Turned twenty. I was PROUD of you when you said you'd learn beastcare; now I'm disappointed and sickened that you did not mean it."

Miresa cried and begged; to no avail. Toreel remained adamant.

"I want to e proud of my goodsister for overcoming illness" he said "You CAN make me proud of you. And, miss, if caring for runnerbeasts isn't too fine for Queenriders – and Queenrider T'lana at least helps with her foster father's beasts when he's short handed – then it's not to fine for a weaver's daughter."

"But – but I'm Ranking now!" cried Miresa.

"Your SISTER is Ranking now and I choose to extend that to you. I can disown you easily" said Toreel. "You don't think I want to, do you? But I've a Hold to think of; and every mark counts. I'm not going to pay for a useless lump who's the laughing stock of the Hold for thinking she's something of the order of Bargen's daughter."

Miresa went white.

Being the laughing stock of her brother-in-law's Hold hurt more than anything else.

"Well!" she said. "I'll SHOW them!"

"Good girl!" Toreel kissed her on the cheek. "I know you could. I just hoped that you could do it without the hint. Ut you WILL make me proud of you and prove them all wrong I'm sure!"

He ruffled her hair; and strode back to his runnerbeast, being walked by a groom.

oOoOo

"Y'know me dear ghirl" Kaili said softly to Miresa "I was kept too young too long; t'the point of me own big sisther almost resenting me: for having reared me when our parents died, as your sisther had the rearing of you. I had the chance to foster away before mild resentment turned t'hate as it might have done; for I assure ye, I was a demanding little scrote so I was! Sure, and me sisther and I now get on just fine, better than ever before, lovin; each other more than we ever had for bein' equal in our relationship, not one taking and one giving."

Miresa turned her miserable gaze to Kaili.

"Truly? Oh Lady Kaili, I don't want my sister to hate me, or the Holderfolk to laugh at me!"

Kaili patted her kindly on the shoulder. Miresa was a s silly, shallow creature, easily led; but with good skills behind her and well trained would do a job as well as any and hopefully would learn confidence in the learning of skills.

"Let's start you gently, rising at normal time and spending your days in the stables with Glenayse" she said "And dropping your rising time back next week, hmm?"

"I – I just so hate things that are dirty" said Miresa.

"Well you shall plait your hair up and cover it with a cotton scarf; and there are boots to protect your feet, overboots; and then there's going to be a nice hot bath when you get back. You and Glenayse might as well split Tirreysa's share of hot water now she's gone. Sure, and anyone smells of runnerbeast just for the ridin' av them; it'll not be so much more" said Kaili firmly.

It would, of course; but Kaili knew well enough that enough time spent around any particular smell inured one to it! It would be well to ease the girl into her new found determination to prove she need not be laughed at – for Kaili strongly suspected that this determination was not so deep nor so stubborn as Vorinia's had been; and Miresa would need more encouragement and inducement!

oOoOo

Tirreysa was in no way missed by the other girls!

"Good riddance to bad rubbish" said Irette irrepressibly.

"I wish we could have helped her to realise how miserable she was though" said Vorinia. "I'm sure we were as blunt to her as D're was to me."

"Huh" said Josis "You had a good basic grounding from Davinda; all YOU had to do was find that and hold on to it. That kid's had wrong attitudes in her ear all her life; and that's another thing. For you it was the way you ACTED: your beliefs were laid on, on top of your basic personality. For her it's the whole way she THINKS. All the way down. I guess that sound a bit muddled."

"I know what you mean though" said Vorinia "I took my attitude from what I knew from my father – but I already had better training too that could be called upon."

"You were never spoilt like HER were you?" demanded Irette.

"Tact not your strong point, is it kid?" said Vorinia grinning. "I was much worse, actually; with an uncontrollable temper and the idea that drudges and riding beasts needed the whip to drive home ideas. I was horrid; and now that I know you other girls I'll admit to it freely. Josis stood my friend and was brutally honest and helped me to overcome it after I'd had a frank opinion or three from the Weyr; and she agreed to foster with me to help me to make a new start."

That implied neatly that Josis had joined her from the Weyr, though Vorinia in satisfaction.

"I suppose I must make a new start too" said Miresa "You said it gets easier – is that true?"

"Oh yes! The first few days after just a couple of hours work on my lazy muscles I wanted to cry all the time; but I suddenly realised I was managing!" said Vorinia "Stick it out – it'll reward you in the end. And it'll put roses in those pale cheeks of yours and give you better posture and better health generally too you know! Kaili won't make you do anything you can't, and Glenayse'll be there to encourage you!"

"Oh yes!" said Glenayse. How long Miresa's resolve would last, Glenayse personally doubted; but she would do her best to help the other girl.

"Well! Only me without a specific craft then!" laughed Vorinia "I've no aptitude for wood, and no particular love of runnerbeasts and no more than ordinary musical ability; so I suppose I'd better stick to cooking and washing!"

Irette pulled a face.

"Poor old you!" she sympathised.

"Oh well" said Vorinia "I know how to launder; and I'd like to learn to cook. And maybe to weave too!"

"Oh it's boring" said Miresa "Like sewing is."

"But I enjoy sewing" said Vorinia "Perhaps I shall enjoy weaving too. I'll speak to Kaili. Then I'll have a suite of skills to add to the lower caverns if I don't Impress!"

oOoOo

The result of Vorinia's enquiries led to her spending her days as Tranora's personal assistant; for Tranora was responsible for the sewing and weaving of the Hold needs, and taught Vorinia the basics of weaving and promised to teach her more knitting than Glenayse had yet shown her; and to start her on crochet work.

Vorinia planned on spending time sewing and knitting for the Weyr orphans and for Northfork's disaster box – clothing and goods for those who had suffered loss of their cot to fire, lightning or avalanche: for avalanches were a common enough hazard, and the ball lightning of the High Reaches was an unexplained and frightening phenomenon, to be considered as a hazard even though it was not common! It often seemed that there was always some new danger to face.

As D're said on one of his frequent visits,

"From Fall, Fog, Fire and Fish preserve us!"

The recent fall of fish over Tillek experienced when fighting Thread was a good story that the dragonmen told against themselves!

As to Fall, it was due the day after Vorinia embarked on her new apprenticeship; early in the morning.

Miresa had elected to rise wit Glenayse once she had found out that Fall did NOT interrupt duties, to be safely in the stables rather than having to traverse the runway during Fall. Irette was glad to be in lessons with Horovarn; and Josis would walk sweep with the woodcrafters. Vorinia would be with Tragen's and Kaili's party; and she and Josis exchanged nervous smiles and a clasp of the hands as they went to bed. Josis' hand was cold; and Vorinia was certain her own was too!

Kaili had permitted them a soothing measure of fellis in case they could not sleep; tiredness would cause a dangerous lack of concentration. Both girls preferred not to take it unless strictly necessary however.

And young bodies that work hard take the rest they need even with worried minds; and both fell asleep before they might have believed it!